Smoke rises from Israeli shelling in Dahaira, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, October 16, 2023. Photo: Hussein Malla/AP.
The Israeli military seek to prevent Hezbollah from launching missiles at its settlements and military facilities from forested areas
Lebanon’s caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said the Israeli army burned more than 1,250 hectares in the south of Lebanon since the start of the year, an area twice as large as all areas burned in 2022 and 2023 combined.
The National News Agency (NNA) quoted Yassin as saying that the Israeli army was carrying out a scorched earth policy, including the use of white phosphorus, to have some form of fire control over the border areas.
A recent video released by the Islamic resistance movement showed Hezbollah fighters launching rockets toward Israel using forest as cover.
The Lebanese minister stated that Israel’s use of white phosphorus was confirmed by three sources: satellite images, soil samples from four sites during a short ceasefire, and reports from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which source their information from the UN and other institutions.
He added, “We documented all of this, and it was sent as a complaint to the UN Security Council.” The minister explained in detail “the effects of phosphorus as a hazardous material” and requested “the establishment of a technical committee in the Ministry of Agriculture to follow up on this problem and address it.”
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his country’s air force command that Tel Aviv had “established a principle” in its war against Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is “whoever harms us, his blood is forfeit.”
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During his visit to the Air Force Operations Headquarters, Netanyahu stressed that “this principle has been put into practice.” He told the commander of the Israeli Air Force, Tomer Bar, and senior service officers during his meeting with them, “We know that the road is long, but we are determined to restore security in the north and return the residents safely to their homes.”
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire almost daily across the border since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October last year. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the Israeli–Lebanese border due to the fighting.
Israeli leaders have stepped up their threats in recent weeks to carry out a full-scale invasion of Lebanon and to destroy its capital, Beirut.
Last month, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah issued a threat in response. He said, “There will be no place safe from our missiles and our drones” in Israel in the event of a broader war. The group also published drone footage revealing its bank of sensitive targets for precision strikes on 22 June.
